Waterproof floor covering



May 4 1926 1,583,098 G. PR D WATERPROOF FLOOR COVERING mmom mmom 4 rmmm I mmom momm momm I momm mmom \AAAAAAAAA j 1 is T 1 g: 2.

Patented May 4, 19 26.

UNITED STATE 5 PATENT- OFFICE.

GEORGE PRIFOLD, OF,SOMERVILLE, JERSEY.

WATERPROOF FLOOR COVERING.

Application filed February 3,1922. Serial No; 533,760.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE PRIFOLD acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the town of Somerville, in the county of Somerset, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Waterproof Floor Coverings, of which the following is a specification.

'The improvements relate to floor coverings and more particularly to waterproof floor coverings. These are commonly made of linoleum, oil-cloth, felt or other fibrous material saturated with asphalt, and of similar substances, coated with a fluid preferably composed of oxidizing oils and a filler. The particular materials used are not important to the present improvements, but as the body of the covering and the coating have different coefficients of expansion both should have a degree of elasticity to prevent cracking and other undesirable results. On the upper or exposed surface of the coating a pattern in imitation of a rug or carpet is printed, and the covering is adapted to be' pasted 'or otherwise secured to the floor, if desired; but in most cases it is preferred to lay the covering without fastenings so that it can be laid or taken up without difficulty and will not be marred and will not cause injury to or marring of the floor by the said fastening means. I

The objects of thepresent improvements, among others, are to provide a floor covering and a. method of laying or applying the sameupon the floor, so that different areas can .be covered'thereby without breaking or interrupting the pattern and'the covering provided with a border; to so construct and arrange the manufactured covering that it may be sold in rolls or in other form in relatively large quantities and cut so as to fit the particular space to which. it is to be applied, and so that it will lie flat upon the surface of the floor, despite small irregularities and without the use of adhesives or other fastening devices; to reduce the cost of such floor coverings in labor and materials in its manufacture and application without cheapening the quality; to provide a coverportion and the border without causing buckling or cracking or gaps between the parts.

the covering is printed with a continuous pattern, preferably in sizes which are multi ples of 2 1 3, 6, and 9 inches, and when the desired length has been printed with the continuous pattern, the borders are printed across the end so that each piece will have av 1'';

border at both ends, but no border is printed along the sides. In this manner a series of rugs each COIlSiStiHg of'a field and twoborders is formed, so that each rug may be used separately or. as a portion of a larger rug. When it is desired to form a rug or similar covering of greater Width than the material the sections may be severed on the line dividing the two end borders and the said sections placed side by side, or any portion-of the sections cut lengthwise may be disposed in this manner with the patterns of the fields and the patterns of the end borders fitted together; and as the longitudinal edges biscct and intersect the figures of the pattern alternately the pattern formed by the two sections or parts of sections will be continusired separate border strips may be applied to the side edges, as shown in the drawing, border strips for this purpose being printed separatel and constituting a part of the article 0 manufacture, so that they may be kept in stock by the manufacturer or the dealer. Each section is preferably printed in multiples of 18 inches and the length made 3, 6, 9, or 12' feet. Itwill be seen therefore that any desired space may be filled with little or no waste and without the employment of skilled labor, the dimensions of the floor to be covered being first determined and the stock material cut so as to cover it exactly. After the material-has been. prepared for application to the floor the'field or center is first.

laid, and the borders, if required, then laid along its edges to complete the covering. If desired corner pieces may be setin, as

shown, but this is not necessary, as the separate border strips laid at the sides or ends may be out so as to extend to the extreme end of the field sides.

.Referring to the drawing, 1 represents the field, 2 and 3 the end'borders, 4 the separate side borders and 5 the corner pieces.

Where separate borders are employed between the edges of the field and the wall base the edges may be laid so as to overlap, as shown at 6 (Fig. 2), so that expansion and contraction may take place without opening up a seam or causing buckling or cracking of the material, which is relatively plus the border of the other soft and flexible and will not only conform of the borders and the field section reference must be had to the effect of different temperatures, so that the overlap will be at a minimum when the temperature is at its extreme low markfor an inhabited building. This may be safely taken to be 50 F., and the field and border may be cut and laid so as to overlap a distance about equal to the thickness ofthe material when the temperature is at this minimum. The covering may be laid at normal temperaturesay in the neighborhood of 70 F.or at higher temperatures by allowing for the contrac-f tion under lower temperatures. The manu facturer can determine the extent of this expansion and contraction by actual tests, and instructions 'may be given in a formula, as for instance so many '"fractions of an inch per yard for each variation of 10 in temperature as it may be actually found to be with the particular material employed. The difference in coefficient of expansion between the body and the top coating of the covering will be taken care of by the elasticity of these parts. It is preferred to have the edges of the field section lap over the edges .of the border, but this may be reversed *if desired.

What I claim is: I 1. An article of manufacture, comprising a floor covering of flexible waterproof material madein sections, each section having a field or center and an integral border at each end, a plurality of said sections being printed lengthwise of a single stripof material.

2. An article of manufacture, comprising a floor covering of flexible waterproof material made in sections, each section having a field orcenter and a border at each end, a plurality of said sections being printed lengthwise of a single stripof material, and another section having a continuous border only printed thereon, complementary to the border of the first section and adapted to be disposed along the sides of the first section, and to form therewith a complete rug having a field and borders on four sides.

3. An article of manufacture, comprising I a floor covering of flexible waterproof-material made in sectlons, each sect1on having a field or center and a border at each end,

a plurality ofsaid sections being printed lengthwise of a single strip of material, and

another section having a continuous border only printed thereon, complementary to the, border of the first section and adapted to be disposed along the sides of the first section, and still anothersection having a series of corner pieces printed thereon with a pattern matching the said border section and the borders of the first named section, and to form therewith a complete rug having a field and borders on four sides.

4. An article of manufacture, comprising a floor covering of flexible waterproof material made in sections, each section having a field or center and a border at eachend, a plurality of said sections being printed lengthwise of a single strip of material, and another section having a continuous border only printed thereon, complementary to the border of the first section andadapted tow be disposed along the sides of the first section, and still another section having a series of corner pieces printed thereon with. a pattern matching the said border section and" the borders of the first named section, and,

to form therewith a complete rug having a field and borders on four sides, the said sections being severable from the material 5. A method or process; of making and laying floor coverings consisting in the making up of the covering of flexible waterproof material in sections, one section having on which they are formed on lines intersecting figures of the patterns thereof.-

a field patternand'two border patterns at the ends of the field pattern printed thereon, and another section having a border equal in length to a plurality of the field patterns thereon, then laying the first section on the floor and leaving spaces at its sides slightly less than the width of the border section at normal temperatures, then laying the said borders along the said side edges thereof with one edge abutting the wall bases and the other edges overlapping the side edges of the first section, and arranging the parts so that the extent of the overlap corresponds with the contraction in width of the sections under low temperatures.

6. The method of making floor coverings, comprising a field or center and a border which consists in taking a. strip of flexible waterproof material and printing thereon a succession of pattern sections, each section representing a field or center and a border at each end thereof, providing thesaid sections with a line of separation, and printing another strip with a border pattern matching the border pattern of the'first section and equal in length to a plurality of the said field patterns, the said field and border patterns of each section corresponding with those of other sections, and the side edges of the field and border patterns bisecting and intersecting the figures of the patterns. 7. The method of making floor coverings, comprising a, field orcenter and a border which consists in taking a strip of flexible waterproof material and printing thereona succession of pattern sections, each section representing a field or center and a border at each end thereof, providing the said sections with a line of separation, and printing another strip with a border pattern matching the border pattern of the first section and equal in length to a plurality of the said field patterns, also printing another strip of material with corner pieces having a. pattern corresponding with the said border said patterns and edges matching the ends thereof.

8. A floor covering consisting of a piece of flexible waterproof material having thereon a lurality of patterns each representing a eld or center with borders at its ends, a second stri of material having printed thereon a bor er of a plurality of the said field patterns and corresponding with the said border patterns of the first strip, and one or more other pieces of the material having thereon corner pieces printed with the patterns corresponding with and matching the ends of the borders of the first and second stri s.

'9. A floor coverinconsisting of a strip of material having t patterns and a series of border patterns alternating therewith, said patterns being arranged so that each field and each-border may be cut from the strip of material in its entirety and without mutilating any of the said patterns or any figures thereof, and

that lds or portions thereof may be laced end to end and side to side to form arger fields with a continuous uninterrupted pat tern throu hout, and borders may be placed end to em? along the edges of said field to form a border with continuous uninterrupted pattern. 1

Witness my hand this 27 day of January,

1922, at the town of Somerville, in the State of New county of Somerset, and Jersey.

GEORGE PRiFoLD.

ereon a series of field 1 cj atterns and figures being so arranged of length equal to the length 

